Contents

History

Her hair lay spread throughout all waters, and her love was given to the creatures that live in salt streams and also the weeds that grow there. The mariners of Númenor would cry to her for help, because she was capable of calming Ossë, and they lived under her protection while their respect for the Valar endured.[1] The Teleri had much love for Uinen, as she and Ossë had befriended them at the river Sirion.[2] Uinen wept for the Teleri mariners after the kinslaying at Alqualondë.[3]

Etymology

Two explanations exist for the name Uinen. In The Etymologies, the first element came from a root UY-. Several other words under this lemma mean "seaweed", though the name Uinen itself is not explained.[4] A later note pertaining to the name instead suggests it is a name of non-Elvish (Valarin) origin of unknown meaning.[5]

Christopher Tolkien has noted that Uinen contains the element nen ("water").[6] It is unknown if he had access to unpublished manuscripts by his father to corroborate this suggestion or if he speculated on the matter.